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Chapter 11: Transition

There needed be no permission to be asked for. The fox knew that whatever he had requested from his parents in this regard would be readily accepted. The permission he really needed was from himself. His mind wandered, but it kept returning back to whether or not to actually spend the night at the wolf's house.

He weighed the benefits to the venture against the loss of opportunities to do as he wished on the weekend. On one hand, he could play games or read books or do whatever he wanted to rot his mind while avoiding schoolwork that he would not have, since he would have finished it in class. He could avoid being injured by playing football, and he could avoid the awkwardness of saying the wrong thing to the wolf at every turn.

On the other hand, in the off chance that he does say the right thing, things might become less awkward and he could actually enjoy himself without being injured, and perhaps teach the wolf well enough that he would not need too much effort on the fox's part when dealing with the school work. He enjoyed that idea, but the decision was still in the process of being made.

Class went by uneventfully throughout the day, or perhaps Roger had just not noticed it, since he was mostly focused on what he should do. He knew he could just say no, but what would that do to Hunter's view of him? He revered him as his only friend, so he had a position to fill.

He could say he was busy, or would be busy as the case was, but he did not want to lie about it. Before he knew it, the time came to make a decision.

He realized that Hunter stood in front of him, looking at him expectantly. The fox had no idea where the time had gone, he felt he had just gone through a day like a robot. He gathered his thoughts, the hours of processing in his head, and decided.

"Okay, I just need to grab some stuff from my house," he began. He had not prepared to actually do the thing he pledged, but figured he might as well; he had nothing else to do this weekend.

The wolf grabbed him suddenly and embraced him, for what was a second, but felt like a year. The fox felt his face flush and struggled to get out, and realized that it was a fairly easy task, as the wolf had not actually confined him. He forgot what he had to say after his initial affirmation.

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, turned, and headed home, his mind swirling.

-

At home, he grabbed his bag and put some clothes in it. He considered bringing some electronics with him, but he only thought to bring his phone charger, as that would be the only active unit as he could perceive, since the wolf seemed to be uninterested in such things. Besides that, phones were fairly capable these days, and he would just play on it if he really desired and had time.

He grabbed what he figured he would need, and took a longing look at his room, and exited.

With his phone out, he exited the house, sending a text message to his parents, of which he was sure to get an affirmative response. He sighed, locked the door, and made his way toward the wolf's house.

-

The walk seemed shorter than the walk home the previous night. Perhaps it was the excitement of being in a new place, or the familiarity of having walked the same road, or the dread of being in unfamiliar territory for more time than necessary. He believed it to be a combination of the three.

The house was as small as he recalled, and it still seemed oddly placed and built when he approached it. He moved past the awkwardly placed tricycle toward the walkway, headed to the door, and knocked on it timidly.

There was no answer. He looked for a doorbell, but found none. He knocked harder on the door, sure that the noise would at least alert someone. The thought that no one was home played in his mind until he heard shuffling behind the door.

The door opened, and instead of the larger wolf he expected, he saw the smaller one. It took an effort to pull the door open, it seemed, but the smaller wolf smiled and nodded for the fox to enter. He was expected, it seemed.

"Hi there," the wolf said. "I'm Matt. What's your name?"

The fox responded, "Roger."

There was a smile and a bit of enthusiasm in the wolf's demeanor, and he could see the family resemblance.

He took the time to analyze. The fur was a darker grey than that of the older wolf, his peer. The eyes were the same golden eyes that, at a point, caused him to feel much guilt. For being a child, the wolf was significantly shorter and leaner than even the fox, but he figured that would change when he got older.

His own fur was the reddish brown he had come to be familiar with. He had no other family than that of his parents, though he knew of cousins and aunts and uncles, he had never met them in the flesh. His eyes were yellow, so much brighter than that of the golden he now partook in seeing, but definitely not as regal in appearance.

He sighed.

"Big bro should be done soon, he's taking a shower," the small wolf explained. "He said you could go to his room if you want."

The fox nodded. He figured it would be less awkward than standing around in what seemed to be a small living room. He took another moment to analyze, except this time the surroundings.

They had a carpet, which was mostly clean except for darker splotches of brown upon an already brown carpet. Judging by their location and frequency, it was mostly just dirt and mud from outside, and he could confirm it with the activities that the wolf performed.

There were paintings on the wall, but not of professional quality. He inspected them from where he stood. They seemed to be well done, but not something bought, so he figured someone they knew had made them, or they gained them from an amateur artist. He figured he would inquire about it at another time.

With the help of the younger brother, he made his way to Hunter's room, which the door had been left ajar. He found a spot on the floor in an out-of-the-way area and placed his bag down. After that, he sat and waited, upon the chair he had sat in the prior day.

It was only a moment before the wolf entered the room, a towel upon his shoulders and neck. He had at least put his pants back on, and the fox felt somewhat grateful for that. He stood up and greeted him. "Hey, I'm here."

The wolf's tail waved around a bit, dropping a bit of water onto the carpet. He still seemed somewhat damp from the shower. He approached the fox to give him a hug, but from Roger's backing away, he realized it was not the best thing to do while he was still wet, or perhaps without a shirt.

"Have you been waiting a while?" the wolf asked.

The fox shook his head. "Only a minute or so. Is my bag fine where it is?" He gestured over to his bag, and received a nod. "Well, what do you want to do today? There's some homework for math, we could finish that up. Do you have some from your other classes?"

Hunter nodded, seeming disappointed. "Yeah, I do...."

Roger sat back down. "Well, if we finish it all today, then we can study tomorrow, and play ball in the meantime, okay? Work hard now so you can have fun later without worrying."

Hunter's ears perked up as he said that, and he nodded his fervent approval. "Okay!"

They sat down and began to work on the homework, except instead of just math, the fox helped him with every subject that he needed help in. It felt it would be a long night.